Living with MS: Stay Connected with Other People

Whether or not you have multiple sclerosis, most social interactions are built around shared activities and interests. So, when MS challenges these activities, your social relationships may be challenged, as well.

When you find yourself in a situation like this, you may be worried about slowing everyone else down, being a nuisance, or feeling uncomfortable (even though you shouldn’t!). Your friends may also feel awkward, or they may even shy away from you when the usual basis for the relationship is altered.

When your activity-level changes, you need to take the lead: Reach out to your friends and suggest alternative plans. Most often, when you do this, you’ll find that your friends care more about you than they do about the activity, and they’re usually happy to do things differently or a bit more slowly if they know it helps you.

You may also find that they’re perfectly willing to participate in another activity altogether. In the case of those people who care more about the activity than they do about you and your well-being — well, they probably weren’t such good friends to begin with.